A couple of days ago, I got an email from the WA State Department of Transportation advising that Chinook Pass (Hwy 410) would be closing for the year on 11/20. Tipsoo Lake is right at the top of the pass and I knew this weekend would be my last opportunity of the year to visit this popular photography spot. Fortunately, the forecast called for cold crisp weather with no clouds or fog so I knew I had to make the trip. I woke up at 4am yesterday to drive out and when I arrived, it was 25 degrees and the lake was 95% frozen over - there would be no classic Rainier reflection shot on this morning. I decided to head up to a vantage point and practice my panoramics instead and when the sun began to rise, the alpenglow did not disappoint. This image is actually a small portion of a 15 shot panoramic I took, one which I cannot wait to print very very large (it has over 30,000 pixels on the long end)! Since I've had a few people recently ask me for tips, I'll end this post with perhaps the best piece of advice I can give to someone looking to get better at landscape photography. In my opinion, 90% of the battle of producing beautiful images is simply being in the right place at the right time. The other 10% is technical (gear, composition, post-processing, etc.), but if you make the effort to trek to a beautiful spot for either sunrise or sunset, you are almost guaranteed to walk away with at least a couple of images you are proud of. You just have to make the effort to get to your spot at an inconvenient time.
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Shot Info: Nikon D7500 with 18-400mm Tamron lens f/8, 1/40s, 135mm, ISO 100.
Interested in purchasing one of my prints? You can find prints on my website - link in bio. ———————————————
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After busting his butt for the last three months, calling in elk for others (myself included), and spending a month searching for a buck, @harrisonbacker was able to notch his tag on this awesome mountain buck yesterday. This buck certainly made us earn it, but the effort made the reward so much sweeter. One week left in the season to find a buck for myself 🤘🏼 #MontanaWild#Diverge7

Today was my last day in my home, in my hometown. Serendipity and a stubborn will made it possible for a time to live in the place where I was made, with the people who made me, while continuing my pursuits on the coasts. But it is time now for something new. I’m heartsick but I’ve got that thrumming in my skin; new things ahead. Thanks everyone for helping me pack my whole life and for loving me so much that it hurts to leave. Love xC

The fear of abandonment...or lingering feelings of insecurity, intrusive & negative thoughts, feeling of emptiness, unstable sense of self, clinginess, resistance, neediness, extreme independence, mood swings.
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I’ve learned my behavior likely originated from my...ruckus of a childhood. While I eschew any identity as a victim, part of my self-healing involves acknowledging the incidents of my past, understanding them, empathizing with them, & ultimately forgiving them, one tiny bit at a time. My emotional development might have been stunted at a sensitive age, but that doesn’t mean I can’t grow now as an adult.
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Any form of distance, even brief or benign, physical, or emotional ones, normally trigger me to re-experience the pain of being left alone, dismissed, disdained. My survive or die behaviors of denial, clinging, avoidance, dismissal, lashing out in or sabotaging relationships kick in all to avoid potential rejection. When the fear of abandonment sets in, cue shame, self-doubt, destabilizing anxiety. I become a fearful child.
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Fear of abandonment is over-powering. It brings me back to the trauma I still carry from when I was a child, thrown into this world helpless & utterly dependent on those around me that might’ve not been in the best place to care for themselves much less a kid.
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But that doesn’t matter anymore.
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My childhood fears no longer match my reality. Although there is never absolute certainty & safety in life, I’m an adult now. A resilient adult. Not only am I capable of my own decisions & thoughts, I can also cradle my inner child. I can learn to stay inside of my body, without dissociating, & I can stay in relationships with others even in the midst of uncertainty, without running away into defenses or whatever sabotaging story my brain has concocted.
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I can accept that just because I’m not perfect all the time doesn’t mean I’m defective or unworthy of love. I can’t be abandoned if I’ve accepted myself. No one, except myself, has that power anymore. I can’t be “rejected” because the value of my existence doesn’t depend on the opinions of others.
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I can’t be engulfed or trapped. I can say no, set limits, & walk away. I can be whole.

I will praise before my break through.
Till my song becomes my triumph.
I will sing because I trust God.

34618 hours ago

The view from the 115th Floor of the Ritz-Carlton across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong proper. The Ritz is located in the ICC tower (International Commerce Centre) in West Kowloon. While I didn’t get go for a swim in the pool here (the highest pool in the world) I certainly had a cocktail at Ozone, the highest bar in the world.

47218 hours ago

Heart so full for California right now. We are the luckiest to live here and be able to spontaneously jump onto El cap with our friends. Thinking of everyone affected by the fires and air quality and really hoping that we can preserve these special places that make CA home.